Tribes: on the meaning of the word “tribe,” see 1 Sam 2.28. Note that Moffatt has “clans.” Here it may be better to say “the people of all the tribes [or, clans]” in some languages. This undoubtedly means that representatives from each of the groups that were descendants of Israel (Jacob) presented themselves to David. Verse 3, in fact, makes the idea of representatives explicit by speaking of “the elders of Israel.” By changing the vowels of the word translated tribes in this verse, some experts suggest translations like “staff-bearers” (Anchor Bible) or “chiefs” (Anderson). But most English versions retain the word “tribes.”

Hebron: see 2.8.

Behold: see 1.2 and 1 Sam 2.31.

Your bone and flesh: expressions such as this are found in a number of places in the Old Testament (Gen 29.14; Judges 9.2 as well as 2 Sam 19.12-13). It is a way of expressing close kinship based on physical relationship. The same kind of idea is expressed by Adam on the creation of Eve (Gen 2.23), who is said to have been taken from his side. Languages have a wide variety of ways of expressing the idea of a common parentage or ancestry. The English idiom speaks of “flesh and blood.” Some other languages may say “we are your people,” “we are the same people,” “we have the same blood,” or possibly “we have the same ancestor(s).”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .